The Weirdest Diet Mistake We've Ever Heard

Here at Prevention, we come across a lot of crazy diet advice (The Mushroom Diet Plan, anyone?). But the results of a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research might just take the cake. Ready for it? Your horoscope is making you fat.

[sidebar]Yep, you read that right. After a seperate 2007 study found one-third of Americans take their zodiac sign seriously, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of South Carolina were curious to see how that belief might impact a person's choices.

So the researchers recruited more than 300 mall shoppers from New York to read favorable or unfavorable horoscopes (manipulated by the researchers) to say things like, "The stars are lining up for you...new ideas and opportunities are plentiful today," and, "Your heart will be filled with dread as you will find obstacles put in your path to achieving your goals." Afterward, shoppers had to choose between going to a party or cleaning their house.

The results? People with unfavorable horoscopes were more likely to choose the party. Which means on days when your stars have nothing nice to say ("Yikes, obstacles ahead!"), it's harder to resist temptation.

The catch: the results only held for shoppers who believed their fate wasn't fixed—if they believed their fate could be changed for the better, then they were more likely to make indulgent decisions, say researchers. That seems counterintuitive—fate-believers should be more reactive to bad news, right?—but shoppers who believed their fate is fixed (and a whopping 75% of Americans do, according to a study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin) were not indulgent. Researchers speculate it's because believers think everything is happening as it should, and their horoscopes are more prepartion than anything else.

Bottom line: whether or not you believe in your horoscope or a fixed fate, it's just a bad idea to let an unhappy reading undo your healthy efforts.

Stephanie CastilloStephanie is an SEO manager for Hearst Magazines, where she works closely with editors to help inform a unique content strategy for search.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Prevention participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.